Jail inmate settles lawsuit

An Ukrainian immigrant who said a botched translation led to her wrongly being placed on suicide precautions at the Stark County Jail has settled her lawsuit against the sheriff and the county.

Shane Hoover

An Ukrainian immigrant who said a botched translation led to her wrongly being placed on suicide precautions at the Stark County Jail has settled her lawsuit against the sheriff and the county.

Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Ross Rhodes said the county’s insurance carrier settled without the county’s input for $49,500.

Attorneys for Valentina Dyshko and the insurance company filed a notice with the federal court in Akron on Friday stating the case has been settled and dismissed.

No terms of the agreement are listed in the paperwork filed Friday, other than that the defendants were paying court costs.

Vivianne Whalen, an attorney and human resources director for the sheriff’s office, said the sheriff’s office admits no wrongdoing.

One of Dyshko’s attorneys said they were not prepared to comment Tuesday.

Dyshko, of Lake Township, filed her lawsuit last year.

In 2006, she spent a weekend in jail after turning herself in on a misdemeanor warrant issued by Stark County Family Court. The charge, related to the home-schooling of her children, later was dismissed.

Dyshko was placed on suicide precautions after a jail employee’s relative, called upon to be an interpreter, reported that Dyshko wanted to kill herself. A different interpreter later translated the statement as “Why would I want to die?” according to court papers.

Dyshko’s attorneys said jail employees violated her constitutional rights by using an unqualified interpreter, and that the sheriff’s office has no policy on handling detainees or inmates who don’t speak English, which is contrary to national standards, according to court papers.

When placed on suicide precautions, Dyshko voluntarily removed her clothing and was given a quilted gown to wear, but complained that it didn’t stay fastened.

Sheriff Timothy Swanson and the county argued that Dyshko’s rights weren’t violated and that jail staff acted reasonably.

In June, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Adams denied the county’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and said a jury should hear the case.

The county filed an appeal with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, but the settlement ends that effort.

Whalen noted the jail has translators for Spanish and other languages, and is looking into services that would allow jail staff to locate translators in a wider array of languages.

Canton Repository

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